Five days to go on our 2014 mid-term general election quest

A quest can be defined as a long or arduous (great labor or effort) search for something; while politicians, advocates and lobbyist spend much time, money and effort in their quest to win us over to a particular candidate or issue, it is also a quest for the voters to bring the election to a close after enduring so many campaign promises and criticism lead by all parties to sway voters in a certain direction; alas, in about five more days, the quest will be over for all in this 2014 mid-term general election. “A quest for leadership and direction in America”.

In St. Lucie County, according to the Supervisor of Elections for St. Lucie, there are 182,866 total registered voters; as of today’s date Oct. 30th a total of 38,399 registered voters have cast their ballots for their choice of those to run the government of the people on the local, state and federal levels. Votes cast to date by mail are 25,658; early voting participation at 12,730 and provisional ballots at 11.

Election day on this coming Tuesday, Nov. 4th should give a big surge in the voter participation for St. Lucie County as many citizens prefer to exercise their right and privilege to vote in person, being very symbolic of the oppression endured in ascertaining, obtaining, and maintaining this freedom to vote for who and what you choose in America to represent the will of the people without any hindrances or obstructions.

Mid-terms are historically known for poor voter turnout but let’s hope the 2014 mid-term general election will exceed expectations!

FYI: What is a Provisional Ballot (According to Florida Statutes)?

A voter who claims to be properly registered in the state and eligible to vote at the precinct but whose eligibility cannot be determined, or a voter whom an election official asserts is not eligible shall be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. A first-time voter, who registered by mail and has not previously provided the required identification to the Supervisor of Elections Office, will be asked to vote a provisional ballot.

If your eligibility to vote cannot be determined, you will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot but residence address must be within the precinct in which you vote. A person casting a provisional ballot may present written evidence supporting his or her eligibility to vote to the Supervisor of Elections by no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second day following an election. At the time of voting, all provisional ballot voters are to be given a written notice of rights including whether or not he or she has to present further evidence of eligibility and how to find out if his or her provisional ballot was counted, and if not the reason(s) why.

If you voted a provisional ballot solely because you did not bring photo and signature identification to the polls, you do not have to present further evidence of eligibility. The local canvassing board will simply compare your signature on the provisional ballot certificate with your signature on the voter registration record. If the signatures match, your provisional ballot will count.